"In an entire 3D universe, your tiny little Beacon, hidden who-knows-where, actually got pulled? You really are unlucky, glasses. You must have done too many shady things."
Coo shook his head with a light laugh and asked casually, "When was it pulled?"
"When, you say..."
Genarkrail tilted his head. "Hmm, if we use the time units of human civilization on Earth... it's only been a few days.
Sigh, there's nothing I could do. That was a 'Living' Beacon, it had Spirituality and intelligence, its personality was set to be as cautious as an old fox, and its self-defense capabilities were top-notch. It only needed periodic reactivation to vent its accumulated will.
But the reactivation period is very short, it's over in tens of thousands of years, definitely not exceeding a hundred thousand. After that, it automatically returns to the template virtual-form storage vault for self-cleaning and standby, awaiting the next cycle.
Theoretically, this Beacon should have been rock-solid. Its starting point for each cycle wasn't low, either. But who could have known things would play out so perfectly? Somehow, in that brief reactivation window, it actually got taken out."
After sighing, Genarkrail opened Audition Online again. As he tapped the keys, CLICK-CLACK-CLICK, he added offhandedly:
"Do you remember back when I was working for the Heavenly Hegemon? He sent me to the Gluttony Swarm several times for stock. That stock was actually the Gluttony Series evolution templates."
"Ah, I know that one."
Coo nodded in realization. "I heard some traveling merchants from our race joking about it. That series of 3D lifeform evolution templates requires Earth humans as the raw material.
Once the template is activated, it automatically guides those humans to directionally evolve into black hole event horizons.
Hmm... the whole process supposedly takes millions of years. But... isn't that just a novelty item? Why would the Heavenly Hegemon stock those?"
"It actually takes much longer; the entire directional evolution process takes about ten quadrillion years."
Genarkrail stretched in his sofa chair and chuckled. "Coo, I can tell from your words that you know a bit, but not enough. Do you know why that template is called the Gluttony Series?"
Coo shook his head, indicating he didn't know.
"Well... let me give you a rough outline of how this evolution template operates."
Genarkrail closed his game and began to explain, "First, to get this template running properly, you must find a suitable Static Local-Inflation 3D Great Boundary. Note that: Non-Static Global-Inflation universes that expand infinitely without end won't work.
Next, within that static 3D universe, pick any Matter Cluster as the target production site. Then, locate and find an Earth Civilization within that cluster.
That part isn't so hard; Earth Civilizations are easy to find. The number of those 3D weeds in the entire String Swarm probably exceeds the number of elementary particles in a Non-Static 3D universe by several orders of magnitude. You can find a huge pile of them just by looking.
The next part is crucial.
For the Gluttony template to start up correctly, the Earth Civilization the user chooses must have just reached the initial stage of free-energy civilization. It can't be nearing a decaying Cyberpunk era, and it certainly shouldn't be close to an advanced Space Age."
"Why is that?"
Coo frowned, asking curiously. "Why is the standard so strict? Why wouldn't the Ancient era, Classical era, Steam age, Electric age, or Information age work?"
"That, I don't know."
Genarkrail shrugged. "The Gluttony template's manual says so, though. It also states that if you don't follow the standards and the template fails to start or encounters issues during operation, the user bears all responsibility. They won't be held liable, and the money spent on the template would be wasted."
"Fair enough." Coo curled his lip. "Go on."
"Right." Genarkrail continued, "In short, once you find this Earth Civilization, you can drop the template near their Gravitational Primeval River and start it up. The template will automatically guide their directional evolution.
The entire process takes about ten quadrillion years. During this time, the user can go off and do other things; don't interfere with the template's operation.
Those Earth humans need to undergo an entire cyclical restart of that Matter Cluster under the guidance of the template's virtual dimensional intelligent system. Only with enough time and massive external stimulation will they evolve into black hole event horizons.
And finally, the main event."
At this point, Genarkrail pushed up his glasses and smiled. "Under the multi-faceted guidance of the template system, that population of black hole event horizons evolved through the Gluttony template will periodically produce individuals named 'Gluttony.'
Once born, such an individual will inevitably evolve step-by-step into a leader of other black hole event horizons, a High-Level Horizon.
But that's not the important part. The important part is that these Gluttony individuals, whether or not they evolve into High-Level Horizons, are all capable of gestating First-Order Spirit Crystals."
"First-Order Spirit Crystals? Ah."
Coo clicked his tongue in disdain. "All that effort for just First-Order? That's the lowest grade. Spirit Crystals have ten grades."
"First-Order is better than nothing. Spirit Crystals are hard currency; someone will always want them regardless of quality. Low profit, high volume."
Genarkrail smirked. "If the Gluttony template runs normally, it can produce at least a four-digit number of First-Order Spirit Crystals in a single Matter Cluster restart cycle. Sometimes even five digits. That's enough to recoup the cost and make a profit.
And as long as nothing goes wrong, the template can run for over a hundred Matter Cluster cycles. Even though those black hole event horizons usually only last a few cycles before collapsing and self-destructing.
But as they say, the older the wine, the better. A few event horizons that can endure might even evolve into Gluttony.
And for those Gluttony individuals that have already existed for a long time, if you let them endure for ten or twenty more cycles, maybe even longer, there's a high probability that the quality of the Spirit Crystal can be boosted by two or three orders."
Hearing this, Coo rubbed his chin and muttered, "I remember... that big merchant group in the Gluttony Swarm that specializes in selling low-dimensional life evolution templates had many types in stock. Was the Gluttony template... the trashiest one?"
"Not the trashiest. It's about lower-middle tier."
Genarkrail shook his head. "I don't know exactly how many millions or trillions of types those merchant groups have.
But when I was picking up stock for the Heavenly Hegemon, I probably saw seventy or eighty different kinds over a dozen trips."
"Ooh,"
Hearing this, Coo smiled with interest. "Tell me about them. What kind of stock were they?"
"You want to hear? Fine."
Genarkrail produced a bottle of peach tea from nowhere, unscrewed the cap, took a sip, cleared his throat, and began:
"There were... the Gluttony template, the Demon Invasion template, the Calamity Beast template, the Matter Sea Wanderer template, the Burning King template, the Machina God template, the Blood Slaughter template, the Wrathful Asura template, the Headhunter Clan template, the Civilization Guide template, the Heavenly Will Hex-Master template, the Celestial Barrier template, the Cosmic Furnace template, the Z-Gene Superhuman template, the Illusionist template, the Soul Awakening template, the Nether Realm Apostle template, the Battle Qi Martial Sovereign template, the National Destiny Battlefield template, the Neutron Dragon template, the Phantom Giant template, the Quantum Butterfly template, the Raven King template, the Titan template, the Paranormal Occurrences template, the Ability Fruit template, the Killing Intent Sublimation template, the Living Gear Evolution template, the Micro-Universe template, the Zombie Matter template, the Origin Force template, the Fate Hunt template, the Ghost Fire Possession template, the Parasitic Metal Host template, the Secret Art Formation template, the Field Manipulation Master template, the Destiny Harbinger template, the Vile Blood Curse template, the Soul Arbiter template, the Elemental Controller template, the Galaxy Overlord template, the Universal Reincarnation template, the Starlight Entity Legion template, the Spiritual Stand template, the Nature Demon template, the Phantom Dream Deity template, the Nightmare Space template..."
"Wait, hold on."
Coo interrupted. "Isn't the Cultivator system the specialty low-dimensional life evolution system of the Desolate Ancient Swarm? Why is there a version here?"
"Just a knock-off. That's the Gluttony Swarm's specialty move. In reality, even if you evolve that Cultivator template to its peak, some Immortal General or Immortal Sovereign, it's only slightly stronger than a High-Level Event Horizon."
Genarkrail joked, "If you used the genuine Cultivator system from the Desolate Ancient Swarm, a basic 'Earth Immortal' level individual could probably slap tens of thousands of High-Level Event Horizon to death."
"Knock-offs can't compare to the real thing, no contest."
Coo snorted. "The Desolate Ancient Swarm's Cultivation system stands in a league of its own among so many Swarms. How could they compare?
Even if their so-called 'Earth Immortal' hasn't reached 6D yet, in terms of overall combat power and influence range, a top-tier Earth Immortal is stronger than a newborn 6D String race member. It's simply inconceivable."
"Haha."
Genarkrail laughed. "True, but their evolution requires that 'Cultivation' stuff, it's time-consuming and exhausting. Not like us String race; we're born noble. We don't need to cultivate; we just automatically evolve and upgrade as time passes."
"Exactly." Coo nodded in agreement. "Cultivation is such an inconvenient thing. Only the weak need to cultivate; the strong are peerless from birth."
After a long bout of joking and chatter, Genarkrail noticed that Coo was still dodging the subject, talking about everything except whether he would help. Finally, he had to speak frankly:
"Coo, I know. I know you've always had a prejudice against me. Yes, I admit, my methods are sometimes a bit crude, I'm a bit money-obsessed, and I can be a reckless jerk who doesn't consider other people's feelings, especially yours.
But I really need your help this time. Sigh, fine, I'll put my cards on the table."
"Mmhmm." Coo rested his chin on his hand, smiling. "I'm all ears."
Genarkrail continued: "It's like this: the specific coordinates of that 3D Great Boundary where I lost the Flag are actually very important to me, I'd even say... they're meaningful.
After I saved enough to leave the Heavenly Hegemon and go solo, my very first project was there.
I poured all my savings into various templates for that place.
For that Matter Cluster, I invested the Starlight Entity Legion and Soul Awakening templates. For the corresponding Realm of Phantasm, I used the Phantom Dream Deity template. And for long-term operation spanning multiple Matter Cluster cycles, I invested the Gluttony template."
At this point, he looked into Coo's scrutinizing eyes and said sincerely: "Coo, help me. That 3D Great Boundary really means a lot to me. It's the beginning of my career."
"Even though I feel like you're still hiding things from me... whatever."
Coo tilted his head, his lazy expression slowly turning cold. "I'll help you one last time. And let me remind you of something: you... were never a 'reckless jerk.' Don't flatter yourself."
He narrowed his eyes at the smiling Genarkrail and sneered: "You... are a backstabbing wolf."
Genarkrail's expression didn't change; in fact, his smile grew even more radiant. "Yes, yes. You're a pure person, Coo, while I'm a bit more vulgar."
As he said this, he thought coldly to himself: Hmph, I knew you were a do-gooder, Coo.
"Alright, enough talk."
Coo slowly stood up. He reached out with his thin hand, grabbed the light brown bangs covering his left cheek, and suddenly pulled them up. He revealed a magnificent, eye-shaped light pattern composed of infinite, shimmering points, lines, edges, and cubic faces.
BOOM!
In an instant, the celestial supercomputers, the infinite radiant continent beneath their feet, and the Matter Sea chandelier in the distant sky all vanished without a trace.
In their place, the surroundings were filled with infinite, overlapping parallel universes, appearing as blurred as frosted glass.
"In the end, I still have to rely on you, Coo."
Genarkrail, standing to the side, suddenly smiled. "Use your [All-Spectrum Eye], which can see through three quadrillion parallel universes in a single blink, to find that 3D Great Boundary for me."
At this moment, in every direction around Genarkrail and Coo, infinite 3D parallel universes were stacked and layered.
The two stood like supreme deities transcending the immeasurable cosmos, gazing proudly and coldly at the space-times in all directions.
Though these 3D space-times were impossibly vast, they held no secrets beneath the pair's shimmering, crystalline eyes.
Whether it was the countless Matter Seas drifting leisurely in the boundless Dark Ocean within a Static Local-Inflation 3D universe, or the Planck domain, smaller than the elementary particles that form the cosmos, all things super-cosmic, cosmic, macro, micro, and super-micro were instantly seen through and laid bare the moment their sharp gazes locked onto them.
Yes, not only could Coo, the Dimensional Artist, see through them, but so could Genarkrail, the Annihilation Traveler.
As Coo's left eye flashed with divine radiance, an eye erupted in the center of Genarkrail's face as well, emitting ten thousand beams of brilliant light in the same dreamlike, beautiful colors.
Indeed, the All-Spectrum Eye wasn't unique to Coo; it was the most fundamental ability born to every member of the 6D String race.
The entire String race could easily see through layers of 3D, 4D, and 5D parallel universes.
To such a terrifying ability, any three, four, or five-dimensional Great Boundary, no matter how massive its volume or how vast its scale, would become transparent and offer no cover the moment their gaze swept over it.
The difference lay in their reach. Genarkrail, at full effort, could only see through a few thousand to ten thousand parallel space-times, which was average for the String race.
But Coo, perhaps due to innate talent or extraordinary ability, could see through three quadrillion massive 3D space-times in a single blink.
He was trillions upon trillions of times stronger than Genarkrail.
Even more mysterious was that Coo, alongside his powerful All-Spectrum Eye, possessed a terrifying tracking ability: "Grasp the cause to see the effect."
With the synergy of these two powers, as long as he had clear, complete temporal data, a large enough body of relevant information, and a solid causal link, he could rapidly locate any target 3D space-time.
In other words, Coo was an incredibly powerful search engine for the infinite parallel universes. Given enough time, he could find any specific space-time.
BUZZ!
Space-time vibrated, and dimensions let out a low hum.
After "receiving" the necessary information and crucial temporal data from Genarkrail, Coo immediately activated his All-Spectrum Eye to its full capacity and began the search.
Under his extraordinary power, the quadrillions of 3D space-times surrounding them shifted and cycled through a "Manifest, Vanish, Manifest, Vanish" pattern thousands of times per second.
This meant that in just one second, Coo could see through and identify whether a hundred quintillion parallel space-times were his target.
Of course, "seeing through and identifying" didn't mean he was absorbing every single bit of information contained within those hundred quintillion 3D space-times.
Seeing through is a matter of observation and identification; seeing everything is a matter of data transmission and storage.
The two were entirely different concepts.
The former relates to the ability to observe and identify information, while the latter relates to the ability to transmit and store it. They cannot be equated.
Even as a superior 6D being, Coo couldn't achieve the latter. Even if we set aside whether he could plunder the data of so many universes in a single second, that terrifyingly massive volume of information would instantly bloat and explode his mind.
In a sense, a String race's All-Spectrum Eye is like a long, thin needle, piercing through and sweeping away all cover and obstacles, rather than a boundless ocean that envelops and covers everything entirely.
BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ!
Minutes and hours ticked by.
Soon, several hours had passed. Coo had identified more than a septillion parallel universes, yet he still found nothing.
This was normal. Since 3D space-time is infinite, even with Coo's powerful tracking and the specific target data helping narrow the search, finding one specific space-time was still incredibly difficult.
Of course, since their concept of time differed entirely from low-dimensional beings, neither Coo nor Genarkrail felt any boredom or impatience. During the continuous search, they chatted casually.
Coo suddenly scrutinized Genarkrail's 3D "Human" body and frowned.
"By the way, do you really plan to go through with your 'revenge' using a [Sacred Descending Form] that's only 'Average Grade'? Aren't you afraid of failing in such small ponds?"
"Mmhmm,"
Genarkrail nodded certainly and smiled. "Don't worry. Though the quality of this Sacred Descending Form is average, only capable of containing one hundred-nonillionth of my power, with a 3D interference field diameter of only five trillion light-years, it's still more than enough to travel the various 3D space-times.
Even if those 3D weeds manage to limp into the 4D domain, their external influence range is only a hundred billion light-years at best. Haha, they're nothing to worry about."
"True."
Coo nodded in agreement. "In other Singularity Swarms, it might be different, but in our String Swarm, as you say, 3D evolution has a ceiling. Reaching 4D is the limit, and ascending to 5D is as rare as a phoenix feather.
Of course, those are secondary reasons. I think the real reason is... this Average Grade Sacred Descending Form is crappy and cheap enough to suit your stingy personality."
Despite this sharp and mocking comment, Genarkrail kept smiling and offered no rebuttal.
But in his mind, Genarkrail sneered:
Coo, Coo, you truly are an ignorant fool! To dare call me stingy, hmph. If I can capture that 4D-spatial lifeform and use it to create a massive batch of 'Divine Grade' [Sacred Descending Forms], I'll be stinking rich. When I truly rise to power, not only will an idiot shut-in like you who mingles with mortals be beneath me, but even that bastard Heavenly Hegemon will have to treat me as an equal! He'll no longer be able to look down on me with such disdain!
Indeed. Before his "Living" Beacon in that prime space-time was utterly destroyed by Seraphine, it had used a mysterious insight to perceive a portion of Seraphine's essence: a high-dimensional spatial lifeform (the 4D portion).
The "Living" Beacon had somehow managed to transmit this crucial piece of data across multiple dimensions and infinite space-times back to Genarkrail.
When he received that information, he had been so ecstatic he nearly lost his mind.
His joy stemmed from the fact that a 4D-spatial lifeform is the most essential material for creating the precious "Divine Grade" Sacred Descending Forms.
The term "Divine Grade" implies a status alongside gods. It is the highest possible rank within the entire classification of the mystical [Sacred Descending Forms].
The Sacred Descending Form is a vital artifact used by the 6D String race specifically for descending into lower-dimensional space-times. Its importance to them is even greater than that of a 5G smartphone to a human on old Earth.
As for why the String race requires such a tool to descend rather than simply appearing in person, the reason is simple.
The String race, a mysterious people born and dwelling within 6D space, is inherently peerless in power. They are so strong they far exceed the limits of any 3D being's comprehension.
Even a newborn member of the String race possesses internal 6D pure energy that, if converted into 3D space-time, would equal the total energy of the dark and visible matter of an octillion observable universes.
If they were to unleash that terrifying power through their massive cosmic influence upon 3D space-time, even a one-second-old infant would have the power to annihilate every cosmic object within a radius of a hundred quintillion light-years in a single blow.
Furthermore, because of this inconceivable power, a String race member's "body temperature" far exceeds the Planck temperature, that is, it's billions of times hotter than 140 nonillion degrees Celsius.
In 3D space, the absolute highest temperature is the Planck temperature: 140 nonillion degrees Celsius.
The moment any object in 3D space exceeds this temperature, it utterly destroys the space-time continuity of that region. It effectively "obliterates" that 3D space, achieving "shattered void," and exposes the vast, mysterious, and incredibly dangerous "Nothingness" behind the universe, while simultaneously releasing all the Vacuum Energy contained within that spatial region.
Theoretically, if even a newborn 6D String race child descended into a 3D universe, their mere presence, even if they did nothing, would cause 3D space to collapse and be annihilated.
3D space simply cannot withstand their "body temperature."
The String race wouldn't necessarily care about the collapse or annihilation itself.
The awkward part was that because they were so powerful, the moment their true bodies descended into a 3D universe and destroyed the spatial region, they would fall into the mysterious and extremely dangerous Negative Dimension's Nothingness Region.
Without specialized artifacts for guidance, specific escape abilities, or a Negative Boundary pioneering team to lead them out, even a member of the terrifyingly powerful 6D String race would face extreme danger upon accidentally falling into that inconceivable Negative Dimension, a place where time, space, energy, information, matter, causality, logic, and distance do not exist. They might even tumble into deeper, even more indescribable and unknowable realms.
In a sense, the String race's power is like a shackle, a stubborn lock that keeps them trapped in 6D space, preventing their race from safely and sustainably descending into 3D universes.
This situation might be some unspeakable cosmic mechanism, a hidden protection for 3D beings against the wanton whims of 6D lifeforms. Under normal circumstances, this mechanism would likely persist, keeping 6D and 3D spaces completely isolated and independent.
But life always finds a way, a ladder to scale the thickest walls.
Undisclosed eons ago, in order to bypass this loathsome mechanism, the great minds of the String race developed that "ladder":
The Sacred Descending Form, a mystical artifact capable of bridging multiple dimensions and infinite space-times, safely housing a portion of a String race member's power and consciousness for remote operation.
These extraordinary artifacts are divided into six grades, with their prices differing by leaps and bounds.
The first grade, and the lowest, Low Quality: Capable of channeling one-duodecillionth of a String race member's power.
The second grade, the grade Genarkrail was currently using, Average Grade: Capable of channeling one-hundred-nonillionth of a String race member's power.
The third grade, which Genarkrail had spent half his savings to barely afford, Standard Grade: Capable of channeling one-septillionth of a String race member's power.
The fourth grade, which he couldn't afford even if his savings were multiplied a hundred thousand times, Excellent Grade: Capable of channeling ten-quadrillionth of a String race member's power.
The fifth grade, which if Genarkrail ever lucked into, he'd sell immediately to become rich, Luxury Grade: Capable of channeling one-hundred-millionth of a String race member's power.
The sixth grade, which Genarkrail wouldn't dare imagine even if he worked for a duodecillion years, Divine Grade: Capable of perfectly channeling a String race member's entire power without collapsing 3D space.
The core material for crafting the sixth-grade Divine Tier Sacred Descending Form was the 4D dimensional unit cell.
This was precisely why Genarkrail had painstakingly traversed countless universes to find Coo and shamelessly begged for his help in locating the specific "coordinates" of Seraphine's space-time.
"Huh?!"
After more than ten hours of searching, Coo suddenly let out a sound of surprise. He focused his gaze on a massive 3D universe a hundred trillion space-times away, then turned to the expectant, glowing Genarkrail and said calmly, "Alright, I've found the place."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!!"
Genarkrail immediately gave a deep bow, offering Coo a smile of intense gratitude. "Coo, you're like a real brother to me. In the future, I, "
"Wait!"
Coo raised a hand to cut him off, his brow furrowing deeply as he stared at that 3D space-time. He muttered, "Huh? There's a... game arena of mine in that space-time?"